


Cover Story

by shallow_seas_we_sail



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Ficlet, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, SuperCorp, and it's raining, and my brain said WRITE THAT, anyway, so i did, so that is angst bait for me that i absolutely took, that had some really nice fan art, they are broken up here, this was prompt floating around on tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28740915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shallow_seas_we_sail/pseuds/shallow_seas_we_sail
Summary: Angst/break up fic. Lena and Kara haven't been together for almost a year, and Kara continues to keep up with everything about Lena; TED talks, galas, tech conferences, magazines...
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 42
Kudos: 292





	1. Grey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [from_a_recklesswriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/from_a_recklesswriter/gifts), [robie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/robie/gifts).



> based on a prompt that **i-am-robie** [received on tumblr](https://i-am-robie.tumblr.com/post/640072909494403072/saw-that-post-you-shared-of-lena-as-the-cover-of) **from-a-recklesswriter** that went a little like this: _i saw that post you shared of lena as the cover of forbes and suddenly had this idea for an angst fic that lena and kara broke up but kara always, always keeps up with everything about lena even though its been almost a year; tedtalks, galas, tech conferences... magazines. and then one super rainy evening lena gets stranded at a newspaper stand her driver running late. suddenly there's a voice behind her asking for, 'no, that one please, the one with lena luthor on the cover? yeah, that one. thanks.' and she slowly turns around cos she can fucking recognize that voice anywhere and she sees kara standing there, staring at the cover; at her picture, her face. and lena just stands there frozen but then the man behind the stand goes, 'you know her?' and kara still not looking up from the cover just goes, 'yeah, i do. i knew her, once. she's... good.' and then kara looks up and sees the exact same green eyes staring back at her against the pouring rain..._
> 
> also, please go check out **battenthecrosshatches** art for this fic [here](https://battenthecrosshatches.tumblr.com/post/640089516352389120/saw-that-post-you-shared-of-lena-as-the-cover-of)

_“Lena.”_

The word, _her name_ , barely registers above the torrent of rain falling around them when it tumbles past Kara’s lips. A tidal wave of anxiety swells in her chest, and Kara taps her thumbs against the of the magazine in her hand, averting her eyes to the cover. She can’t stare into green, not in this moment or in to the snapshot of one, not when everything has been so _goddamn_ grey since she left.

But it hasn’t stopped Kara from hoping, _Rao,_ even praying that she would see Lena’s face again. She’s played it over in her head more times than she can count; the chance meeting during a morning coffee run, the casual encounter during after work drinks, and Lena always looks the same. She always looks _so fucking_ _beautiful_ , and Kara always says the perfect thing, the thing that sends Lena tumbling back into her life and into her arms; what keeps her beside her, the thing that keeps her around, all of the things that start Kara’s world spinning again. 

And here she is; close enough to reach out and touch. Close enough that all Kara would have to do is pull gently on the sleeve of Lena’s raincoat to send her into her arms. 

Instead Kara is caught, mortified, standing and gaping at her ex-girlfriend under the canopy of a newspaper stand. She takes inventory of her body, if she is even still tethered to it. Kara glances just past the magazine her hand to make sure she hasn’t floated off the ground. _Nope_ , just her soaked through shoes wading in a puddle, and wet hair stuck to the side of her face after she made a mad dash from her building to pick up the latest issue of **_Forbes_ ** and to stand dumbly in the rain. And all of those perfect words, all the imagined declarations of love she made to Lena when the moment came, _this moment_ , have fallen out of her head because here she is. Here she is and _god_ , she is so beautiful.

Kara adjusts her glasses and then flips the magazine over, tucking it into her messenger bag, forcing her hands to do something, _anything_ that isn’t reaching out to Lena.

“The profile is subpar at best,” Lena says dryly, turning her attention back to the street, “you look well.”

The forced politeness and causal dismissal fold heavily in Kara’s chest, “I like to keep up with how you’re doing.” she confesses quietly, “I also read the Scientific American article last month. That was...” Kara takes in breath, “that was great. Really. I’m proud of you.”

Kara leaves the part out about Lena’s TED talk that she has watched five times, or the testimony Lena gave as she sat in front of Congress in a push for renewable, clean energy. No, she leaves out all of that, because Kara can only handle her love for Lena in those macrocosms. But now she is here, and all of that love, so big and so encompassing lights up inside of Kara, and she hopes.

 _God,_ she hopes.

Lena hums her agreeance, and glances over her shoulder, “Then I suppose I should tell you I like to keep up with how you’re doing as well. But I won’t tell you what trashy, clickbait articles I scroll through for my Supergirl news.”

Kara barely contains the laughter that threatens to spill out of her. She presses her fingers against her lips and glances down, nodding her head, “Yeah, those are... not the most reliable.”

Lena gives a soft smile as her town car pulls up, and the silence between them is filled with the distant sound of thunder as the storm continues to roll in from the coast. The driver jogs around the back of the car and opens the door, and the cold rain must batter against her warm heart, because Kara can feel that hope start to slip as she watches Lena slide into the back seat and the door shut behind her.

No goodbye.

No _'call me,'_

No _'I love you.'_

Just the steady sound of pattering rain to fill her head and the hole in her chest.

Kara takes a steadying breath, and raises her hand in a stiff wave as the car pulls off from the curb. She tugs up the collar of her jacket, tucking her head beneath it and turns up the street towards home. Suddenly she can hear the rubbery screech of brakes and her name cutting through the static of the storm, and when she turns, Lena is standing beside her town car, door open, her hands flexing open and shut at her sides nervously.

“Do you want a ride?” Kara’s heart kick starts at the words and Lena tilts her head back to the open sky, “I just can’t leave you.”

And Kara can hear the catch in her voice; how it turns over in the back of her throat when she knows Lena has more that she wants to say but can’t, and that _hope_ rears itself back up, because maybe Lena has played this moment over, too. Maybe she can’t find the words and was caught in the rain with soaked shoes, standing dumbly right along beside Kara.

 _Maybe_.

“Yeah,” Kara says with a nod, jogging back towards the car, “that'd be great.”

The smile that Lena gives her is enough that Kara forgets about the rain against her face, or how her glasses fog up when she slides into the back of the car. She forgets about the storm on the coast and the thunder overhead as Lena pushes in beside her, and gently pulls off her glasses, tucking them away in her messenger bag. She forgets all her speeches and declarations when Lena reaches out and pushes a few damp strands of hair behind her ear and her fingertips trail along the curve of her jaw for the briefest moment.

Kara forgets all of it, and maybe that’s okay. Maybe the less they say right now, the better. The last year has been quiet, but she can stand it for a bit longer; even with all those said unsaids.

Right now, she doesn't mind if it rains in heaven every day.


	2. Color

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lets give these two a happy ending.

Kara could check off all the idiosyncrasies that make up Lena, every subtle thing that makes her, _her_. From the way she kicks her heels off haphazardly at the door after coming home with little regard to where they land, to how when she is overwhelmed, emotion perches itself just beneath her chin, causing the slightest quiver of her bottom lip. There are hundreds of them that Kara has committed to memory. She loves how Lena needs the volume set to an even number, or how she always has one leg kicked from under the sheets in bed, cutting a drastic figure between dark sheets and ivory skin. And Kara could never help but to roll over and push in closer, fingers trailing along the edge of fabric and skin, peppering revenant kisses along Lena’s shoulder.

_“This is a trap,” Kara hummed, “this has nothing to do with regulating your body temperature.”_

_“It’s hot,” Lena smiled, and turned over, facing Kara fully, “are you going to complain?”_

_Kara's mouth pinched to the side in a smirk, “Never.”_

But here in the back of the town car under grey, open skies, Kara is hoping for any stray chance of familiarity. _Anything_ that will tell her if there is still something between them, because she has come too far in this goddamn storm to lose _whatever_ this is now. She wills the words in her head to form into something coherent, but instead Kara watches the raindrops race along the pane of the window, gathering until its weight is too much, and slides tearfully down the glass.

She honestly has no idea what she is doing.

“God, this man is insufferable.” Lena grits out, and Kara turns her head to find Lena tapping angrily on her phone, “He thinks himself as poised to be the next Le-..” Lena clears her throat, and she inhales sharply, and Kara knows she is preparing for the bitterness of the word on her tongue, “the next Lex.”

A bolt of anxiety tightens in her chest at hearing Lena say her brother’s name, “Everything okay?” she ventures cautiously

Lena’s top lip curls into the slightest bit of a snarl before sending off the message and shoving her phone back into her purse. Kara almost feels bad for whoever is on the receiving end.

“I am going to strap Elon to one of his own goddamn rockets and send him into space myself,” Lena huffs, “I’m sorry. It’s been a week from hell. I’ve had every Tesla board member circling me.”

Relief floods Kara. No shouting. No argument following Lex’s name; just casual conversation. Nothing like how it was a year ago, after Lex and Kal, and the fallout that followed.

“Your stocks are doing better than his right now since you announced your clean energy initiative. If you can deliver on the Series L cars next year,” Kara blows out a low whistle, “he’ll be working for you.”

A hint of a smile pulls at the corner of Lena’s mouth as she crosses her legs and leans in toward Kara, shooting a conspiratorial look, “You think? Perhaps I’ll put him in parts and services. Really make him work for it.”

Kara gives a noncommittal shrug, “He doesn’t see beyond the dollar signs. You do. You always have,” Lena averts her eyes, suddenly interested in the ring she is twirling around her finger, and a soft smile spreads across her lips, “it’s always been about the greater good. Not everyone is willing to make that sacrifice or weather the cost that comes with it.”

And, _Rao,_ there it is. _Here it is_ ; that chance. It’s etched into every line of Lena’s face; in the full smile pulling at the corners of her mouth, and the lip she's pulled in between her teeth. It’s in the subtle wrinkles between her brow and hiding in the corners of her closed eyes. And this, _this,_ is what Kara loves most; not the kicked off heels, or forgotten, half filled coffee cups all over the house, but when Lena is wholly aware of her worth, and _god,_ Kara would sing a chorus of praises for this woman every day just to see that smile.

“Thank you.” Lena says quietly, glancing up and holding Kara’s gaze, “I don’t know how you do that.”

“Do what?”

Lena shakes her head, “Just-.. I spend a lot of time being watched. Constantly, you know that,” Lena says with a sad laugh, “but you’re the only one who has ever made me feel seen.”

The silence that follows is comfortable, and Kara leans back in her seat as warmth blooms in the center of her chest. She turns her head in an effort to hide the smile threatening to break across her face, and trails her finger along the window, cutting through the condensation in abstract patterns as the car comes to the stop at a red light.

“I've been seeing someone.” Lena confesses quietly. Kara’s hand stills, and she pulls back, suddenly aware of the cracking sound of glass beneath her fingertip.

Oh.

_Oh no._

Because of course. _Of course_ , Lena is seeing someone. Why wouldn’t she? There were no lingering promises made when things ended, just the burden of grief and lost forever's for Kara to carry. The cabin of the car suddenly seems brighter, and perhaps it is the lack of oxygen that is inviting the color, so Kara wills herself to breathe.

Breathe before she passes out in the back of a stuffy town car in soaked through clothes and shoes with her ex-girlfriend who has etched herself into every wall of her heart. And Kara’s face must betray her, because Lena has moved closer and her hand is on her back, rubbing small circles.

“Are you okay?”

Kara closes her eyes, desperate to keep her tears at bay. She can feel the muscles in her body coil with anxious energy, because ripping the door off the side of the fucking car and fleeing like a coward seems much more welcoming than hearing her panicked heart hammering away her chest right now. 

“I-..uh.. I should probably just ge-..” Kara stammers, reaching for the door handle, only to feel Lena’s hand on top of her own.

“We are ten blocks away from your apartment,” Lena says quietly, “and that’s not what I meant.”

Kara opens her eyes, “What?”

A smile pinches at the corner of Lena’s mouth, and she arches an eyebrow, “When I said I was seeing someone. I meant a therapist.”

Kara’s mouth falls open just enough for a small _“oh”_ to escape past her lips before her hand is immediately on the handle. She pushes the door open, and scrambles out of the car and into city traffic, across the street and to the sidewalk. Kara presses her back against the side of a building, desperately trying to ground herself and cursing inwardly for being _such an idiot_. 

Cursing herself as Lena steps out of the car and jogs towards her in the rain with a raised, graceful hand to the drivers in their stopped cars in the middle of the street because Kara and her traitor heart are _so fucking transparent._

Kara grips one hand around the strap of her messenger bag, waving Lena off with the other as she approaches.

“No. _No, no, no_. I’m fine. I jus-..” Kara's eyes grow wide as she immediately fumbles into her bag, and pulls out her glasses, pushing them ungracefully on to her face, “I just needed some air.”

Lena tilts her head, and studies Kara for a moment, “In the middle of a storm?”

A panicked laugh rumbles in the back of Kara’s throat, and she shrugs, shaking her head and looking up to the sky, “The world just feels... big right now,” she says, dipping her head back down towards Lena, “like _really fucking_ big.” Kara taps her hand against her chest in some futile attempt slow down the racing muscle, unsure how to empathize it to Lena any other way. She just prays that the rain rolling down her face will mask her tears and that Lena can’t hear her heart.

Kara shifts her weight on her feet, and takes in a shuddering breath as Lena steps closer, “Then make it small.” she says quietly, her hands coming up and smoothing down the lapels of Kara’s coat.

Kara swallows hard and keeps her eyes trained to Lena’s, “I don’t know if I can.”

“Focus on me.” and _Rao,_ that’s all Kara wants ever again in this life and every one that may come after, “Tell me.”

“I just..” Kara breathes out, every confession poised to tumble over her lips, “I’ve just missed you and I am sorry I wasn’t there after everything that happened with Lex and Kal. I went to the funeral an-..”

Kara can feel the hum that reverberates in Lena’s chest when she presses fully against her, and Kara snaps her mouth shut. She can feel the hammering of Lena’s heart and how it matches the rhythm of her own, following the same traitorous beat.

And she can feel Lena’s hands tighten around her lapels, gently pulling her in until their lips meet in a kiss brushed with forgiveness. Passerby’s grumble under their umbrellas about the weather, and horns blare behind the stopped town car in the middle of the street behind them and honestly, Kara doesn’t care. She wraps a protective arm around Lena’s waist, pulling her close while her hand brushes against the line of her jaw, cupping Lena's face gently because _this_ is what she cares about; the languid kiss and the woman in her arms, and she isn’t sure whose tears get in the way, but _god_ , she doesn’t care.

It is worth the salt.

**Author's Note:**

> recommended listening: Rootless Tree - Damien Rice **and** Stay - Mayday Parade


End file.
